KIEV, May 4 (Reuters) – Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian capital Kiev on Thursday night, the fourth assault in two days that subjected residents to spasms of gunfire and explosions, and at least one drone was shot down.
The city authorities had declared an alert for Kyiv and its surroundings. Residents who had gone to the bomb shelters said the drones arrived faster than usual after the alerts were declared. Reuters witnesses heard gunshots and repeated louder explosions near the center of town.
The attacks began after 8:00 p.m. (5:00 p.m. GMT) and lasted for about 20 minutes. Ukraine’s air force said in a statement that it had destroyed one of its own drones after the drone lost control over the Kiev region, likely due to a technical failure. It was not clear how many drones in total were destroyed.
Russia said on Thursday that the United States was behind an alleged drone attack on the Kremlin with the aim of kill President Vladimir Putin. Washington and Kyiv denied their involvement.
Putin will head a scheduled meeting of Russia’s Security Council on Friday and the Kremlin incident could be on the agenda, the TASS news agency reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking in The Hague after visiting the International Court of Justice, said Putin must be brought to justice for the war and Kiev will work to create a new court for this purpose.
In other diplomacy, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in a visit to brazil which encouraged the government to include Ukraine in any attempt to negotiate an end to the war. He was referring to comments by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in which he called on the West to stop arming Ukraine in order to allow peace talks to start.
There are currently no peace talks to end the war, which has devastated Ukrainian towns and cities, killed thousands and driven millions from their homes.
FRONTLINE ACTION
Nearly 50 Russian attacks were repelled along the main sectors of the front line in eastern and southern Ukraine, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Thursday night. The heaviest fighting continues in Bakhmut and Maryinka, further south in the Donetsk region, he said.
Russian forces also launched 66 airstrikes and participated in 33 shelling episodes against Ukrainian positions and towns and villages, causing casualties and damaging infrastructure, according to the report.
Reuters was unable to verify the battlefield accounts.
MOSCOW QUOTE ‘US ORDERS’
Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, without providing evidence, said Ukraine had acted on US orders to attack the Kremlin citadel early Wednesday morning.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby has dismissed Russian “lies” and said there was still no conclusive evidence on the authenticity of a video showing the drone in the Kremlin.
“The attempts to repudiate this (attack on the Kremlin), both in kyiv and in Washington, are, of course, absolutely ridiculous. We know very well that decisions about such actions, about such terrorist attacks, are not made in kyiv but in Washington. , Peskov told reporters.
Peskov said an urgent investigation was underway and any response would be carefully considered and balanced.
Russia has increasingly accused the United States of being a direct participant in the war, intending to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Moscow. Washington denies this, saying it is arming Kyiv to defend itself and retake illegally seized land.
KYIV, ODESSA TARGET
Earlier on Thursday, Russia fired two dozen combat drones into Ukraine, hitting Kiev and also hitting a university campus in the Black Sea city of Odessa. There were no reports of casualties. Russia denies attacking civilians in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, diplomats are still working to maintain a comprehensive deal for Ukraine and Russia. agricultural exports I live past May 18. Technical staff from Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and the United Nations will meet on Friday to discuss the deal, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said.
Russia has a list of demands it wants to meet for the continuation of the Black Sea grain pact, which the UN says is helping to address a global food crisis made worse by Russian forces invading neighboring Ukraine in February 2022.
Zelenskiy has vowed to push back all invading Russian forces to the borders established in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. He said on Thursday that the whole of Ukrainian society was preparing for a counter-offensive, which he said would be successful against what he called an “unmotivated” Russia.
Information from the kyiv, Moscow and Amsterdam bureaus Written by Gareth Jones Edited by Nick Macfie
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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